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Abstract:

This disclosure claims antenna testing system, including a signal
transmission simulator, a channel emulator and an anechoic chamber; more
than two antennae are set in the anechoic chamber; each antenna is
connected with the signal transmission simulator through the channel
emulator; the more than two antennae are located on the sphere which
center is the position of the device under test. This disclosure claims
an antenna testing method, comprising: more than one channel model for
test is set in the signal transmission simulator; a channel model is
selected from the more than one channel model; wireless signals are
transmitted according to the selected channel model; after emulation
processed by channel emulator, emulated wireless signals are transmitted
through the antennae in anechoic chamber; DUT set in the anechoic chamber
receives and then processes the signals transmitted from each antenna,
and outputs the processing results.

Claims:

1. An antenna testing system, including a signal transmission simulator
equipped with more than one channel models, a channel emulator and an
anechoic chamber, wherein the anechoic chamber is equipped with more than
two antennae, each antenna is connected with the signal transmission
simulator through the channel emulator to provide more than two
transmitting signals to a device under test, and the more than two
antennae are located on a sphere of which center is the position where
the device under test is located.

2. The testing system according to claim 1, wherein the number of the
more than two antennae is greater than or equal to the number of the
paths of the channel models.

3. The testing system according to claim 2, wherein the channel models
are space channel model (SCM), or space channel model extension (SCME),
or channel models defined by the European future communication standards
Winner I or Winner II.

4. The testing system according to claim 1, wherein when the more than
two antennae are polarization antennae, two orthogonal polarization
antennae are set at the same antenna position.

5. The testing system according to claim 1, further including: a signal
mapping unit, configured for mapping wireless signals output by the
channel emulator to corresponding antennae, respectively.

6. The testing system according to claim 1, wherein the signal
transmission simulator is a base station simulator.

7. An antenna testing method based on the testing system according to
claim 1, wherein more than one channel models for test are set in a
signal transmission simulator, and the method comprises steps of: the
signal transmission simulator selecting one channel model from the more
than one channel models, and transmitting wireless signals according to
the selected channel model; and after the transmitted wireless signals
are emulated by a channel emulator, the emulated wireless signals being
transmitted through antennae in a anechoic chamber; and a device under
test, which is set in the anechoic chamber, receiving and then processing
the signals transmitted from each antenna, and outputting processing
results.

8. The testing method according to claim 7, wherein the channel models
are SCM, or SCME, or channel models defined by Winner I or Winner II.

9. The testing method according to claim 7, wherein when the testing
system includes a signal mapping unit, the signal mapping unit maps each
of the wireless signals processed by the channel emulator to the antennae
in the anechoic chamber, respectively.

10. The testing method according to claim 9, wherein the signal
transmission simulator is a base station simulator, the wireless signals
are transmitted according to a time interval set in the channel model,
and the antennae in the anechoic chamber are distributed according to
space positions set in the channel model.

11. The testing system according to claim 2, further including: a signal
mapping unit, configured for mapping wireless signals output by the
channel emulator to corresponding antennae, respectively.

12. The testing system according to claim 3, further including: a signal
mapping unit, configured for mapping wireless signals output by the
channel emulator to corresponding antennae, respectively.

13. The testing system according to claim 4, further including: a signal
mapping unit, configured for mapping wireless signals output by the
channel emulator to corresponding antennae, respectively.

14. The testing system according to claim 2, wherein the signal
transmission simulator is a base station simulator.

15. The testing system according to claim 3, wherein the signal
transmission simulator is a base station simulator.

16. The testing system according to claim 4, wherein the signal
transmission simulator is a base station simulator.

17. The testing method according to claim 8, wherein when the testing
system includes a signal mapping unit, the signal mapping unit maps each
of the wireless signals processed by the channel emulator to the antennae
in the anechoic chamber, respectively.

18. The testing method according to claim 17, wherein the signal
transmission simulator is a base station simulator, the wireless signals
are transmitted according to a time interval set in the channel model,
and the antennae in the anechoic chamber are distributed according to
space positions set in the channel model.

Description:

FIELD OF THE INVENTION

[0001] This disclosure relates to the antenna testing technology, and in
particular to an antenna testing system, and an antenna testing method
based on the testing system.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

[0002] With the development of modern industry, various communication
products can ensure the communication quality only by having excellent
transmitting and receiving performance. The indexes of evaluating the
transmitting and receiving performance include the Total Radiated Power
(TRP), the Total Radiated Sensitivity (TRS), the space radio frequency
(OTA, Over The Air), and so on. It is required that the TRP be greater
than a set threshold, and the TRS be less than a set threshold, so that
the corresponding requirement for communication can be met. When both the
TRP and the TRS meet the set threshold, it means that the testing indexes
are good.

[0003] In order to ensure the normal use of mobile terminal device in
network, the Cellular Telecommunications and Internet Association (CTIA)
establishes the test standard of the OTA performance of mobile terminal,
i.e. The test plan for mobile station OTA performance. At present, most
operators require the OTA performance of the mobile terminal accessing
the network thereof to be tested according to the CTIA standard. The TRP
and the TRS should meet a certain limitation requirement.

[0004] For the traditional single-antenna system and the mobile terminal
thereof, the test on indexes, such as TRP, TRS, is performed in the
traditional anechoic chamber. Nowadays, the Long Term Evolution (LTE)
system and the like are about to be industrialized, and the traditional
single-antenna system and device will change gradually to the
communication device and communication terminal with the Multiple Input
Multiple Output (MIMO) multi-antenna technology. The traditional anechoic
chamber cannot evaluate the corresponding communication performance of
the OTA performance of the multi-antenna terminal. The related
communication performance of the mobile terminal can be tested only by
adding new device on the basis of the traditional anechoic chamber to
compose a new anechoic chamber, and thereby evaluating the OTA
performance of the MIMO system and the mobile terminal. Unfortunately,
the current multi-antenna system is still being studied, so that there is
no related testing system, and the related testing method also remains
only in theory

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

[0005] On that account, this disclosure mainly aims to provide an antenna
testing system for performing the space performance test on the
multi-antenna system (multi-antenna device under test), and an antenna
testing method based on the testing system. It can test the communication
performance indexes of mobile terminal in the multi-antenna system, and
can be easily implemented with low cost.

[0006] For achieving the aim, the technical solution of this disclosure is
realized by:

[0007] an antenna testing system, which includes a signal transmission
simulator (base station simulator), a channel emulator and an anechoic
chamber; wherein the anechoic chamber is equipped with more than two
antennae, each antenna is connected with the signal transmission
simulator through the channel emulator to provide more than two
transmitting signals to the Device Under Test (DUT), and the more than
two antennae are located on a sphere which center is the position of the
DUT.

[0008] Preferably, the number of the more than two antennae is greater
than or equal to that of the diameters of the channel models.

[0010] Preferably, when the more than two antennae are polarization
antennae, two orthogonal polarization antennae are set at the same
antenna position.

[0011] Preferably, the system further includes:

[0012] a signal mapping unit, configured for mapping the wireless signals
output by the channel emulator to corresponding antennae, respectively.

[0013] Preferably, the signal transmission simulator is a base station
simulator.

[0014] The technical solution of this disclosure is further realized by an
antenna testing method based on the above-mentioned testing system,
wherein more than one channel models for test are set in the signal
transmission simulator; and the method comprises the following steps:

[0015] the signal transmission simulator selecting one channel model from
the more than one channel models, and transmitting wireless signals
according to the selected channel model; and after the transmitted
wireless signals are emulated by the channel emulator, the emulated
wireless signals being transmitted through the antennae in the anechoic
chamber; and

[0016] a DUT set in the anechoic chamber receiving and then processing the
signals transmitted from each antenna, and outputting the processing
results.

[0017] Preferably, the channel models are the SCM, or the SCME, or the
channel models defined by the Winner I or Winner II.

[0018] Preferably, when the testing system includes a signal mapping unit,
the signal mapping unit maps the wireless signals processed by the
channel emulator to the antennae in the anechoic chamber, respectively.

[0019] Preferably, the signal transmission simulator is a base station
simulator, the wireless signals are transmitted according to the time
intervals set in the channel models, and the antennae in the anechoic
chamber are distributed according to the space positions set in the
channel models.

[0020] In this disclosure, the simulation for transmission of wireless
signals in real system is implemented by setting multiple test antennae
in the anechoic chamber, and correspondingly setting signal transmitting
components such as the base station simulator and the channel simulator.
The wireless signals are transmitted to the DUT (mobile terminal) through
the antennae in the anechoic chamber. Then, the DUT performs related
decoding process according to the received wireless signals, and outputs
the corresponding processing results. Testing personnel can determine the
wireless signal processing performance of the DUT under various
communication conditions, according to the testing results output by the
DUT, thereby implementing test on the communication performance indexes
of the DUT. This disclosure is easily implemented with low cost, and
capable of conveniently and quickly performing test on the communication
performance indexes of the DUT.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0021] FIG. 1 shows a structural diagram of a testing system for a
multi-antenna system according to this disclosure.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE EMBODIMENTS

[0022] In order to make the objective, the technical solution and the
advantages of this disclosure more clear, this disclosure is described
below in detail with reference to the drawings and embodiments.

[0023] FIG. 1 shows a structural diagram of a testing system for a
multi-antenna system of this disclosure. As shown in FIG. 1, the testing
system for a multi-antenna system of this disclosure includes a signal
transmission simulator 10, a channel emulator 11 and an anechoic chamber
12. The anechoic chamber 12 is equipped with more than two (N) antennae
(test antennae) 15. Each antenna 15 is connected with the signal
transmission simulator 10 through the channel emulator 11 to provide the
wireless signals (transmitting signals) with the same number as the
antennae for the DUT 14. The N test antennae 15 are located on the sphere
of which center is the position where the DUT 14 is located. The best way
for placing the test antennae 15 is that the test antennae 15 are located
on the circle of which center is the DUT 14. The test antennae 15 and the
DUT 14 are on the same plane, which is usually the horizontal plane.

[0024] In this disclosure, the anechoic chamber 12 is a closed container
made of anechoic material and having a certain space. Specifically, it is
free of interference of external wireless signals. For example, outer
surface of the anechoic material of the anechoic chamber 12 is equipped
with metal shell, so as to avoid signal interference from the existing
external wireless signals to the closed space in the anechoic chamber 12.
The anechoic material can almost completely absorb the wireless signals
reaching the anechoic wall of the anechoic chamber 12 without generating
reflection of signal, so as to minimize the influence on the test of the
device under test 14.

[0025] In this disclosure, the test on communication performance is mainly
aimed at the DUT in the multi-antenna system. Therefore, the channel
emulator 11 is specifically the MIMO channel emulator, i.e. the simulated
channel capable of realizing multiple wireless signals, so as to achieve
the channel characteristic in the real transmission of wireless signal.
The channel emulator can be the currently commercially available channel
emulator, and it is not the main point of implementation of the testing
system in this disclosure, so that no further detail is given here.

[0026] In this disclosure, the signal transmission simulator 10 is
specifically the base station simulator whose main function is how to
implement transmission of wireless signals. Specifically, a test sequence
(test data for testing) can form corresponding wireless signals by the
signal transmission simulator 10, and then the wireless signals are
output to the test antennae 15 in the anechoic chamber 12 through the
MIMO channel emulator 11, and thereby implementing simulation for the
wireless signals. The base station simulator can also be realized by the
currently commercially available base station simulator.

[0027] In this disclosure, the base station simulator 10 stores channel
models which include but not limited to Space Channel Model (SCM), or
Space Channel Model Extension (SCME), or the channel models defined by
the European future communication standards Winner I or Winner II. The
base station simulator 10 transmits the corresponding wireless signals at
certain time interval(s), according to the related properties of the
channel model. In this case, the positions of the test antennae 15 in the
anechoic chamber 12 are set according to the space properties of these
channel models. Specifically, these test antennae 15 can be arranged at a
certain angle.

[0028] As shown in FIG. 1, the testing system for the multi-antenna system
of this disclosure further includes a signal mapping unit 13, configured
for mapping the wireless signals output by the channel emulator 11 to the
corresponding antennae, respectively.

[0029] The number of the test antennae 15 in the anechoic chamber 12 is N
which should be equal to or greater than the number of paths (main paths
or clusters) of the used channel models. The test antennae 15 are located
on the sphere of which center is the position of the DUT 14. Thus, when
these test antennae 15 transmit the wireless signals simultaneously, it
is ensured that these wireless signals can be received by the DUT 14
simultaneously, and then the test on communication performance of
multi-antenna receiving of the DUT is ensured.

[0030] In this disclosure, the number of paths of the channel models is 6
or 8, so that the number of the optimized single-polarization test
antennae is 6 or 8. For the dual-polarization test antennae, two
orthogonal polarization antennae are needed to be configured at the same
antenna position. The polarization directions of antenna include vertical
polarization, horizontal polarization, 45-degree polarization and so on.
When the test antenna is the dual-polarization test antenna, the optimum
number of needed test antennae is correspondingly 6×2 or 8×2,
i.e., 12 or 16. The number of test antennae in the anechoic chamber can
be equal to but not limited to the optimum number. Specifically, the
dual-polarization antennae in this disclosure can be the vertical
polarization or the horizontal polarization antenna, or two antennae with
orthogonal polarization directions in the cross-polarization (X
polarization) antenna.

[0031] In this disclosure, the DUT 14 can be set at center of the anechoic
chamber 12, which is convenient for the distribution of the test antennae
15 in the anechoic chamber 12. The shape of the anechoic chamber 12 shown
in FIG. 1 of this disclosure is not intended for limitation. It can be
any shape with closed space, such as hemisphere.

[0032] The multi-antenna testing method based on the testing system for
the multi-antenna system shown in FIG. 1 is described below.

[0033] The base station simulator is used for simulating the transmitting
signals of the base station, and outputting M transmitting signals of the
base station, i.e. the transmitting signals of M antennae of the base
station. The output signals of the base station simulator are input to
the channel simulator to simulate the status that the signals of the base
station pass through the space channel. The channel simulator outputs N
signals, and then the N signals are output to the N test antennae in the
anechoic chamber. In the above, mapping is performed between the N
signals output by the channel simulator and the N test antennae according
to a certain mapping relationship. The N test antennae spatially transmit
signals. The DUT is at the center of the anechoic chamber. The N test
antennae are arranged on the spherical circle of which center is the DUT
according to a certain rule. The DUT receives the signals from space and
processes the received signals, or transmits the signals outside through
cable for post-processing, and verifies the received signals, thereby
finishing the OTA test.

[0034] The above is only a preferred embodiment of this disclosure, and
should not be used for limiting the scope of this disclosure.